PHYS 101 - General Physics I Fall Semester

• Douglas C. Giancoli, Physics, 5th ed. (Prentice-Hall) --> This is an OLDER edition, selected because of its affordability.
• The NEXUS open-source WikiBook on Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS).
• Depending upon the outcome of negotiations, students may be required to purchase a license for WebAssign. HW would then be done online through this online service. You can expect it to cost between $25-$30 for each semester. If we adopt this, then instructions on how to purchase this will be sent to you as a WebAssign Student Quick Start Guide.
• Andrew Elby, Portable TA Problem Solving Guide, Vol. 1 (Prentice-Hall), on reserve in CNS room C005
• A pocket calculator will be useful for problem sets and tests and in the laboratory. (It might not hurt in class either.)

Instructor:

Gabe Spalding Office: CNS room C006B. Tel: 556-3004. Electronic communication: gspaldin@iwu.edu

"So many things seem, at first, to be like magic.
As you begin to try to understand them, they become physics,
and you become the magician."

E-mail is always welcome. I will occasionally send e-mail to your official IWU address, and will make posts on the Class Discussion Page on Piazza, so please check these regularly. (I recommend using the free smartphone app for Piazza.)

• Office Hours:
• Monday: 11:00 - 11:50 am
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 3:00 - 3:50 pm
• Wednesday: 4:00 - 4:50 pm

How this course fits into the broader curriculum:

PHYS 101 and 102 together constitute a comprehensive introduction to classical and modern physics. Although calculus-based approaches will sometimes be presented alongside non-calculus methods, only non-calculus problem-solving techniques appear on the exams, and previous coursework in calculus is not expected.

Pre-medical students typically take PHYS 101-102. On the other hand, any student intending to become a CHEMIST is advised to consider taking PHYS 105-106, for a number of reasons. First, there are many courses offered by the Physics Department that complement and reinforce the IWU Chemistry major (e.g., Materials Physics, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Mathematical Methods of the Physical Sciences, Quantum Mechanics, Optical Physics, Electronics, upper-level Electricity and Magnetism, Experimental Physics, etc.). Students should particularly note that PHYS 207 ("Modern Physics") is required for some of the electives offered by the Physics Department, and so the 105/106/207 sequence is preferred for students interested in combining an extended suite of physics courses with another major. (That said, for students who remain in the 101/102 sequence, CHEM 332 may sometimes be substituted for PHYS 207 as a prerequisite for other elective courses in physics.) In any case, the synergy between chemistry and physics is so strong that chemistry majors should be aware of the possibilities for a minor, a double major (or Special Interdisciplinary Major in Physical Chemistry or Chemical Physics), or involvement in the Physics Department research groups.

Whatever your major, you may wish to note that the requirements for a Physics Minor only involve PHYS 101-102 (or 105-106) plus three additional one-semester classes: PHYS 207, PHYS 304 ("Mathematical Methods of the Physical Sciences"), and one additional 300-level course (Chemistry majors often choose Materials Physics or Statistical Physics or Quantum Mechanics; biologists might opt for Scientific Imaging or Optical Physics, which includes significant discussion of lasers; many other students choose a basic course in Electronics). Students contemplating a major in physics should take (the calculus-based) PHYS 105-106 (which meets at the same time as this class in C102), and any student interested in our 3:2 pre-engineering program are required (by the American Board of Engineering Training) to take that (fully calculus-based) physics course.

Nowhere is it written that a "100-level" course is less work, or in any way easier, than an upper-level course. In fact, most students consider 300-level physics to be easier than 100-level, just as students often find that their first forays into a foreign language are the most challenging. It can take a lot of work, at first, just to find your bearings. That said, physics is a beautiful and rewarding subject.

PHYS 101 Course Overview

The fall semester, 101, covers basic mechanics extensively and discusses, in less depth, fluid motion, simple waves, sound, heat, temperature and relativity. Mechanics, the science of motion, is universally important. Behaviors at the microscopic scale warrant special attention, and in this course we emphasize the fact that thermal agitation leads to a world that is, at the scale of the organelles within biological cells, much more violent than anything our intuition associated with the macroscopic world might lead us to appreciate, and that this violence increases dramatically as we move to the smaller length scales associated with biomolecules. Throughout this course we will frequently apply physical concepts to other scientific disciplines, especially the life sciences (e.g., relating oscillations to audiological physiology and fluid mechanics to blood flow). The course will only introduce the Theory of Special Relativity, which is critical to understanding high-speed imaging, measurement and communication, as well as the (surprising, but cool) nature of time and space. Similarly, in PHYS 102 we offer only a cursory introduction to quantum mechanics; those interested in a more thorough introduction should plan on taking PHYS 207.

You will develop strong problem-solving skills, necessary to apply physical concepts in a wide variety of situations (and disciplines). To do this, you will need to learn and think in a variety of ways, some of which may seem new to you. You will learn to reason deductively and mathematically, using algebra, trigonometry, and geometry in order to understand physicists' descriptions of reality. You will begin to understand physical concepts, some intuitive and some counter-intuitive, on a deep level. You will hone all of these skills through homework exercises (primarily), as well as through experiences in the classroom and in the laboratory, where you will gain first-hand experience with some of the physical phenomena underlying natural processes.

There are many resources available to assist and guide you. These include a nightly "clinic" or help session run by upper-level physics students on Monday through Thursday evenings. In addition to posted office hours, you may drop in on your instructor or arrange a meeting time or correspond via e-mail. Please do not hesitate to contact your instructor and ask for help. No question or topic is too small! If you are having a lot of trouble with the homework, please be sure to meet with your instructor as soon as possible.

Please note that it is especially important to stay up to date on the reading and homework. If you invest the necessary work in the course, you'll find it interesting and highly satisfying.

Feedback: If you have concerns about the course or ideas about how to make it better, please let the us know immediately, either in person or by e-mail. We are very happy to implement suggestions, and we have had great success with student suggestions in the past.

Course Policies

Attendance

It is important that you attend all classes in order to benefit from this course and fulfill your responsibilities as a participant.

You will be assigned to one laboratory section on the basis of a form to be distributed. The laboratory will not meet every week (see the attached schedule). There will be a 20% penalty for any unexcused absence from the regularly scheduled laboratory period.

Assignments and Tests:

Written work will be assigned weekly, on Monday. It will be due at the start of class on the following Wednesday (nine days later). There will also be assigned reading to prepare you for class discussion.

Exams during the term will consist both of multiple-choice questions and a few short-answer questions.

There will be a two-hour, comprehensive final exam at 3:30 PM on 12/11/18 (Tuesday), which will emphasize problem solving and short-answer questions.

Lab reports will be due one week after your lab section.

Grading procedures:

Written exercises: the following simple scheme emphasizing understanding over details will be applied to each problem or substantial part thereof: 4 points will be awarded for a correct numerical answer, 3 points for correct application of concepts, 2 points for a significant attempt with conceptual errors, and 1 point for any attempt.

Exams: understanding concepts is key. On the problem-solving exams, partial credit may be awarded for sensible efforts even without completely correct answers.

Laboratory Grading: to discussed separately at first lab session.

• In-term exams add up to a total of: 48%
• Final Exam: 18%
• Laboratory 20% [Note: ALL labs must be complete to pass the course!]
• Written exercises 14%
  

Lateness policies:

Labs must be completed and turned in on the due dates unless cleared in advance by the lab instructor.

Homework: You are permitted a single one week extension without any penalty during the semester when you are stressed out with work; however, in order to receive the extension you must, at the time the homework is due, turn in a dated sheet of paper indicating that you are giving yourself a "free extension." Save it for when you really need it.

Otherwise, work turned in by the start of the next class following the due date will be assessed a modest 15% penalty.

Work handed in anytime after that, but before the end of the semester deadline, will not be graded but will be given about 1/3 credit for a reasonable effort.

Please do not split up the assignments.

Exams must be taken at the stated times, except by prior agreement.

Honor code matters:

We value Illinois Wesleyan's honor code for the integrity it fosters and the pedagogical flexibility it affords. The important guiding principle of academic honesty is that you must never represent the work of others as your own. The following guidelines should govern your behavior in the course; please request clarification if you find yourself in any doubtful situations.

You may seek assistance from the instructors, at the Physics clinic or from your fellow students with the weekly assigned exercises and with preparing for class discussions. You may also work together with other members of the class on these assignments, and this is often quite beneficial. However, for your own good, avoid situations in which you contribute either too much or too little to such collaborations. Just copying someone else's work is clearly a representation of another's work as your own and is a violation of the community. [This includes copying the homework solutions when preparing your extension homework.] Your textbook gives the answers for most of the odd-numbered exercises. These are given so that you will know if you have solved problems correctly. It is not sound learning procedure to try to work backwards from given answers, but doing so is not a violation of the honor code.

Solutions to the written exercises will be placed on reserve in CNS room C005. (If you are doing a late set for 1/3 credit, you may consult the solutions, but you may not copy them.)

Exams must be entirely your own work. Detailed instructions will be given on the exams themselves and discussed in advance. You will be allowed to use a page of notes prepared in advance and a calculator, but no other materials will be permitted. No collaboration of any sort is allowed once an exam begins.

Advice

You may need to improve your study habits in order to succeed in this course. The following suggestions are based on the experience of previous students:

Review your class notes between lectures, and come prepared to ask questions. Annotate your class notes as you read them.

Stay up to date on the reading; preferably read the assigned material twice; for example, once before the relevant lecture, and once after.

Read with pen in hand to work out things described only briefly in the text or lecture. Ask yourself "what is the main point of each section", and answer the question.

When you take notes in class, don't just write down equations! Qualitative information is often essential.

Don't spend more than one hour on a single homework problem. Show clearly where you're stumped and just move on. Don't feel badly if this happens occasionally, and don't worry about the effect on your grade. Consistency in attempting the homework is most important.

You need to allocate about five hours for study and homework per week (plus class time and lab responsibilities).

Do stop in to see your instructor if you have questions or suggestions.

Use the posted solutions (in the CNS room C005) to problems and exams.

Remember that if physics is a new or unfamiliar subject for you, learning will take time, just as learning a new language takes time. Try not to become discouraged if the going is rough at times, and don't prejudge your ability to master the material. Generations of students have done it before you. There is no magic method of presenting the material that we can use to make it easy.

If you are interested in more resources, look at materials in the library.

Feel free to ask for advice from physics majors, or from any students who have taken 101 before.

Tentative Schedule

*  A Q preceding a number in an assignment indicates a question rather than a problem.

Labs (scroll down for general comments):

• Before taking data, engage in significant exploration of your equipment/apparatus. Although these experiments involve some concepts that may be new to you, they commonly rely upon principles that you have already learned. Use your text! Use your life experience! Use the sorts of physics that you already know in order to think through how your equipment is intended to operate, and its operating limits, to plan your measurements, and to consider what can be learned.


• One of the important "habits of work" that we expect you to adopt is that taking the time to write in the spaces provided in your procedural, as you work! Writing should an integrated part of your work in any lab. A real lab notebook is not something produced "after the fact"!


• Continually work to make your discussion of errors more specific and "professional" - that is, make sure that your arguments are plausible. Try to estimate the magnitude and direction of skew you might expect to be associated with any sources of error you might suggest, or perform tests in order to track down the magnitudes and signs of various sources of error. Also, try to incorporate at least some numerical work on uncertainties (in order to quantify your level of confidence in your results - which you should demonstrate that you have tried to make as high as possible!).